Post Tagged with: "ip caucus"

Speaking to the Parliamentary IP Caucus

I have been critical of the Parliamentary IP Caucus, so I should be equally quick to praise where appropriate. Tonight I was invited to appear before the caucus and given two full hours to make a presentation and participate in an engaging discussion on copyright. The meeting was well attended with members from all four parties in attendance.

My powerpoint slides are posted below (the first half of the talk covered the same ground as the Copyright Myths presentation I gave a couple of weeks ago). My key messages centred on putting copyright reform in context and getting the key content issues right. From context perspective, I highlighted:

the need to recognize both the importance and limits of copyright
the lack of recent consultation
how Canadian copyright law is not nearly as weak as critics suggest
why the WIPO Internet treaties provide great flexibility in implementation
why focusing on copyright may undermine the efforts to address commercial counterfeiting
how there are many voices expressing concern with a Canadian DMCA approach

I was also asked about my recommendations for reform. I provided nine points:

May 14, 2008 — 4 comments — Committees, News

Canwest on Copyright Reform

Canwest features a story on possible copyright reform, focusing on the lobbying from the U.S. government – including a forthcoming trip to the U.S. by members of the IP Caucus – and the continued concern of thousands of Canadians.

May 8, 2008 — 1 comment — News

IP Caucus Rolls Out Welcome Mat for the U.S.

Sources indicate that the Parliamentary IP Caucus, co-chaired by Liberal MP Dan McTeague and Conservative Gord Brown, plan to roll out the welcome mat for the U.S. next Wednesday. The meeting includes a presentation from four representatives from the U.S. Embassy along with a pair of speakers from the Entertainment […]

May 1, 2008 — 5 comments — News

Where Do The Liberals Stand on Copyright?

Dan McTeague, the longtime Liberal MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, is best known for his Private Member's bill on tax-deductible RESPs that caused the government a fair share of heartburn and was ultimately not supported by his own party which did not want to risk an election on the issue. McTeague has been a longtime advocate for many consumer issues, including campaigning against high gas prices and fighting for more consular support for Canadians abroad. Notwithstanding this record, McTeague is rapidly emerging as a vocal voice on another issue – U.S.-style DMCA copyright reform. Indeed, while McTeague may be the Liberal Party's Consumer Affairs critic, he is decidedly anti-consumer when it comes to the issue of copyright.

Last November, McTeague formed the Parliamentary IP Caucus, which has held regular, private meetings with those advocating tougher copyright reforms including the Canadian Manufacturing Assocation, CRIA favourite Deborah Spar, and ACTRA. On the Industry Committee, where he sits as Vice-Chair, he pushed heavily for the anti-counterfeiting report that includes a WIPO ratification recommendation. Yet McTeague's emergence as the new Sam Bulte only became crystal clear at a panel session I attended in Toronto yesterday on copyright and IP, which raises critical questions about where the Liberals stand on copyright.